Mayor says suspect in 7 deaths is sex offender

GARY, Ind. (AP) — The mayor of Gary, Indiana says that a man who confessed to killing one woman and led police to the bodies of six others in northwestern Indiana had been convicted of sex crimes in Texas.

Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson tells The Associated Press that the 43-year-old man in custody directed investigators to sites where bodies were found Saturday and Sunday.

Police haven't released the name of the man taken into custody after a 19-year-old woman was found fatally strangled Friday night at a Motel 6 in the neighboring city of Hammond.

Freeman-Wilson says authorities aren't certain how long the man has been in northwestern Indiana, although he does have a conviction for residential entry in the area. The mayor says she doesn't know whether more bodies might be found.